


I Have You for Seven Days

by geeelatinnn



Category: SixTONES (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Decisions, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hugs, Kissing, M/M, Pain, Regrets, Romance, they be cute, they be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29840943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/geeelatinnn/pseuds/geeelatinnn
Summary: “So, I’ll be staying here for exactly seven days. That’s why I came here at exactly 12am, the literal start of the new day. As you can tell from my luggage, I came prepared.” Taiga speaks as if it was not a big deal, like it is a normal occurrence to his and Hokuto’s life that he just suddenly pops in and out of Hokuto’s place as he pleases. Much like he did with their relationship when he just suddenly decided they should break up and never once did Hokuto ever see him again after their break up. Not even accidentally. As though Taiga had erased his whole existence in Hokuto’s life, until today.
Relationships: Kyomoto Taiga/Matsumura Hokuto
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	1. These Seven Days with You

**Author's Note:**

> Finally able to give birth to this after three works of working on this on and off. I have posted a lot of crumbs on my twitter account so some of them aren't really a surprise anymore.
> 
> Thank you to Rena and Zaq for putting up with me through the process of this fic and giving me inputs and some inspiration for this whole fic. Also, this was supposed to be Erika's birthday present but it got delayed but yeah the important thing is, I finished it [finally].
> 
> I really do hope that whoever reads this would enjoy what comes ahead!

* * *

**Day 01 - Saturday**

**If this is a dream, I don't ever want to wake up**

* * *

Hokuto wakes up to the sudden sound of his doorbell. 12:00am, his bedside clock reads. Hokuto decides to ignore it and flips his pillow over his head. Whoever it was that was ringing his doorbell was persistent though and he didn’t want to receive complaints from his neighbors tomorrow and so he heaves a heavy sigh as he stands up to answer the door. Dragging his feet he begrudgingly wore a robe over his clothes as he made his way to the door. He is not in any mood to welcome guests in the middle of the night, especially not on this Friday night that he thought he could finally sleep in and not worry about answering any emails for work once he opens his eyes in the morning.

Hokuto’s eyes widen from disbelief, he can’t quite put his mind to comprehend what he is seeing standing in front of his door with his ever so bright smile and his eyes that seemed to sparkle like the night stars. Here he is, standing right by his doorway, the man he never thought he’d see walking the halls of his apartment building again yet alone walking inside his apartment. But here stands Taiga, with his backpack slung on his shoulders and a suitcase that was almost as high as half of his body. He blinks rapidly as he tries to collect himself. Thinking maybe his brain just decided to fuck with him as it welcomes in the literal start of the new day at 12am.

“Can I come in?” There it is, Taiga’s voice that he hadn’t heard in a while. Still having a sort of soothing effect on him whatever it was that comes out of his lips so long as it was said in that calm tone of him. “The night’s a bit chilly.”

Hokuto moves to the side to make way for Taiga, helping him with his bags as he takes off his shoes. They sit in silence at Hokuto’s living room, Hokuto still trying to process things and Taiga just letting Hokuto take it all in first.

“So, I’ll be staying here for exactly seven days. That’s why I came here at exactly 12am, the literal start of the new day. As you can tell from my luggage, I came prepared.” Taiga speaks as if it was not a big deal, like it is a normal occurrence to his and Hokuto’s life that he just suddenly pops in and out of Hokuto’s place as he pleases. Much like he did with their relationship when he just suddenly decided they should break up and never once did Hokuto ever see him again after their break up. Not even accidentally. As though Taiga had erased his whole existence in Hokuto’s life, until today.

Hokuto is still trying to process the fact that Taiga is here sitting at his living room and now the fact that Taiga plans to stay in his apartment for the next seven days was being added to the things he needed to process. His eyes are already giving up on him, slightly closing as he tries to nod at what Taiga was saying to him even though he doesn’t really hear a thing anymore and can’t even read Taiga’s lips as his sight blurred from exhaustion. He snaps back to reality when Taiga chuckles.

“I guess we should talk about it tomorrow. You look like you really need to sleep.”

“I want to go to bed, Taiga.” Hokuto admits. Whether or not this was real or a dream, he still doesn’t know. “Join me whenever.”

Taiga nods his head. “I’ll just shower and brush my teeth, then I’ll join you. Okay?” He closes in their distance and kisses Hokuto’s cheeks. “No need to wait up. You can go and sleep.”

* * *

Hokuto wakes up alone in bed, from what he remembers from last night he should have woken up with a certain someone in his bed as well. But he figures his sleep deprived tired brain might have just been playing games with him last night and decided to show him his most vivid close to being a realistic dream he had for a while now. He drags his feet to his bathroom; thanking his past self for coming up with a connecting door between his bathroom and his own bedroom. He is still fighting to keep his eyes open as he went through his usual morning routine: brushing his teeth and washing his face. His brows furrowed together when he finally noticed a different set of cup and toothbrush at the sink. He opens up the cabinet and there it was, the familiar set of aftershaves and other things that no one else but him would be using and it confuses Hokuto all the more. Why was his stuff in his cabinets again?

Hokuto rushes out of the bathroom. Everything in the living room was in order but it looked tidier than how he remembers leaving it last night. Another blanket was hanging over next to his at the sofa as well.

“Ah, you’re awake. Good morning!”

Hokuto’s head snaps to the direction of the familiar voice, the same honey-laced voice that used to greet him every morning when he wakes up. And there in his kitchen stands Taiga, clad in his usual two sizes too big clothes and a powder pink apron. Taiga hums a tune as he prepares the table for their breakfast as if this was a normal occurrence and Hokuto just stands there, mind and heart telling him to do two different things. His mind tells him to be more rational this time, that this was the same man that left him without looking back as he pleaded for him to stay a mere two years ago but his heart… his heart was full of longing for the warmth of this person.

Hokuto follows his heart as he strides closer to Taiga. He pulls Taiga into a tight embrace, making sure if it was really him standing in his kitchen or was it simply a figment of his imagination.

“You’re here.” Hokuto tightens his hold, but not too much as he does not want to suffocate Taiga. He pulls away just enough for them to face each other, cupping Taiga’s face with his left hand. “Are you real?” He is almost breathless as he talks, still not believing that Taiga is here and he is really holding him in his arms.

Taiga leans in to his touch. “As real as I can be.” He holds on to Hokuto’s hand that was cupping his face as if he wants to reassure Hokuto even more that he is indeed real, and that he is standing right next to him in his arms. His lips curl into a smile, his usual reaction to Hokuto's warmth.

They stay in their position for a while. Hokuto examines Taiga's face as if it was the first time he was seeing him. His lips part slightly as they locked eyes, he forgot how lost he gets whenever he looks at Taiga's eyes. Hokuto doesn’t hold back and kisses Taiga. He feels Taiga’s chuckle before responding to his kiss. Still, it was Taiga who pulled back first.

Taiga holds both sides of Hokuto's face with his hands. “Breakfast will grow cold.” Taiga pecks on Hokuto’s lips and chuckles at Hokuto’s startled reaction before he pulls his body away from Hokuto’s hold. “Do you still take your coffee the same? Straight black?”

“Yes.” Hokuto could only manage to say a word, what with all other words rushing to his mind all at once. He wants to ask him what brought him here in the first place, why did he come back, why was he acting as if everything was still the same between them, and numerous questions flooded Hokuto’s thoughts that made his knees weak. He takes a seat on the side that he could only assume was his as the placemat used was the black one with Taiga’s hand painted lilies.

“My mom taught me how to cook and she said my omelette rice was nice so I figured I should cook some for you.” Taiga settles Hokuto’s mug in front of him before he takes his own seat. “I hope you’d like it.”

Hokuto sips his coffee first, having that first hit of caffeine waking up his senses makes this whole thing feel even more real. That Taiga is really seated in front of him, filling his mouth with a spoonful of the omelette rice that he cooked himself. When Taiga notices Hokuto staring at him, he smiles with his cheeks filled with food before he goes back to chewing his food. If this is still part of his dream, Hokuto hopes not to wake up anytime soon.

Hokuto kicks Taiga out of the kitchen and insists on doing all the dishes himself. Thankfully, Taiga’s mother suddenly called Taiga’s phone which ultimately sealed their argument of who was going to do the dishes. Halfway through washing the dishes, Taiga hands him his phone saying that his mother wanted to talk with Hokuto.

Even if things between him and Taiga ended abruptly, he maintains a good relationship with Taiga’s mother. Hokuto has talked to Taiga’s mother more often than he did with Taiga for the past two years, they were both careful not to touch the subject of Taiga when they talked. Lately, they’ve been talking about a floorplan for a renovation at Taiga’s parents’ house and they even went to check out furniture together just a few weeks prior. Taiga takes over washing the dishes as Hokuto talks to his mother on the phone.

Taiga joins Hokuto in the living room not long after. He smiles as he watches Hokuto talk to his mother: all smiles and laughter, just a picture of happiness with no pretensions. Taiga savors the moment, he misses this Hokuto: the lighthearted sound of his laugh and the way his fangs are bared when he smiles from ear to ear.

Hokuto hands Taiga his phone when he finishes the conversation. "Your mom told me not to worry about you in the kitchen as you learned really fast."

Taiga holds his head up high and smiles proudly. He hands Hokuto his book before he picks up his manga. The two of them settled down on the couch as they let the silence surround them while they both focused on what they were both reading: this was a typical Saturday morning activity for them when they were still together.

Hokuto was reminded of why he has such a big couch when he and Taiga shifted positions; both of them stretching out their legs and he had Taiga in between his as the older used his chest as a pillow. They wouldn’t really fit if he had a standard sized couch. Hokuto was only intending to catch a glimpse of Taiga engrossed in his manga but instead he found the other dozing off. He catches Taiga's manga in his hand just in time before it hits his face.

Hokuto puts down both his book and Taiga's manga on the coffee table before he wraps his arms around Taiga. Carefully, he moves to roll sideways, pinning Taiga between him and the backrest of the sofa. Taiga looks so peaceful in his sleep and Hokuto was also tired himself that he eases up in his position and lets sleep take over him as well.

The digital clock next to his television reads 7:00pm when Hokuto finally wakes up. He hears some noises coming from the kitchen, Taiga is already there preparing their meal. He hugs him from behind and rests his head on his shoulder. Hokuto notices that Taiga had changed clothes, his hair a bit damped and probably just finished a bath not too long ago.

Taiga leans his head on Hokuto’s for a few seconds before he plants a kiss on his head. “I was about to wake you up once I finished washing these,” He pulls up some carrots from the basin. “I had just prepared a bath for you. By the time you finish I’ll probably be done preparing our dinner.”

“You don’t need my help in the kitchen anymore.” Hokuto says with a pout on his face.

Taiga catches the pout on Hokuto’s face at the corner of his eyes. He turns around to face Hokuto and wraps his arms around his waist. “Why are you trying to be adorable? No, scratch that, why are you so adorable?” He boops Hokuto’s nose and Hokuto scrunches up his face in response. Taiga lets out a hearty laugh, his cheeks get tints of pink on them.

“Oh look at you. Practicing your cooking skills in the kitchen had made your cheeks fuller.” Hokuto playfully pinches both of Taiga’s cheeks. “Pon pon.” 

Hokuto’s kitchen that was used to being filled with silence now had their laughs echoing. It takes a great deal of convincing before Taiga finally kicks Hokuto out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. Convincing that involved saying yes to Hokuto picking a movie to watch before bed but not without Taiga pitching in that they should use the television in the bedroom instead of staying in the living room.

Dinner was filled with a joyous exchange of stories between them: Taiga told Hokuto about his travels and workshops abroad and Hokuto catches him up with what he had been up to at work and how he was next in line to be promoted as a section editor if he keeps up his feature writing. Not one of them tries to address the elephant in the room. Hokuto intends not to, at least not tonight. He has long been waiting for the day that Taiga comes back, he was not about to waste this first day by sparking possible arguments between them.

Their plates have long been cleared up of their dinner but both of them got too immersed in talking that they failed to notice anything else apart from each other. Taiga’s phone buzzes beside him and he excuses himself out of the kitchen, leaving Hokuto to clean up the dishes that the two of them used for dinner.

The agreement to watch a movie is long forgotten once they both settle on the bed. It wasn’t so much that they were tired, but there was just something about them holding each other which let them drift off to sleep before they knew it.

* * *

**Day 02 - Sunday**

**Never would it have crossed my mind that I'll get to hold you again**

* * *

Hokuto changes the curtains and covers around the house as Taiga cooks their lunch: both of them got up late but instead of moving to get the day started they decide to stay in bed and just talk about whatever came to their minds, before they knew it their stomachs were grumbling.

Never would this scene have crossed Hokuto's mind, not when Taiga did disappear completely from his life for two years. Never did he think of this scene ever happening again. But here it was now, him spending the weekend with Taiga instead of alone.

"I'll be doing the laundry later." Hokuto says as he walks inside the kitchen.

"No. I'll do them tomorrow while you're at work." Taiga says as he finishes up setting the table for their lunch.

"How about going out today?" Hokuto takes Taiga's hands and holds them with both of his. He pulls him close and kisses his nose. "Maybe go grocery shopping?"

Taiga scrunches up his face, earning him another featherlight kiss from Hokuto on his nose. "I'll do them some other day. While you're at work. I need something to do while you're gone."

Hokuto swings their arms in the air. “But I want to carry the bags for you.” Hokuto whines like a child asking for his favorite candy.

Taiga lurches forward and plants kisses on both of Hokuto's cheeks. "Tell you what, I'll do the groceries on Tuesday around maybe two hours before you get off work and then pick me up there on your way home."

"An hour before I get off work. So that I can still be with you while we buy things."

"Deal." Taiga wraps his arm around Hokuto and Hokuto does the same to Taiga to seal their deal instead of a handshake.

They finally start the movie they were supposed to watch last night after they had their lunch. Still, they watch the movie on the television inside Hokuto's room: one of the things that was rarely used ever since Taiga decided to move out.

"Why do you keep pulling me close? I told you, I won't fall asleep during the movie." Taiga takes one of Hokuto's hands and intertwines it with his.

"I missed you. You were gone two years, no contact whatsoever." Hokuto lets out a sigh. He remembers all those days he stayed hopeful that Taiga would walk back in his apartment and they would patch things up. He remembers not losing hope for at least a year, by then he decided to just bury himself with work so he wouldn't notice the days go by. "I want every bit of time with you, as much as I can have while you're here."

“I’m not even going to go anywhere.” Taiga plays with Hokuto’s fingers as he talks. “At least not for the next five days.”

“Why are you even only staying for exactly seven days? What happens after the seventh day?” Hokuto immediately regrets what he had just said and if he was to be given the chance he would just want to take it all back.

Taiga senses Hokuto’s panic from the way his hand suddenly clenches his own. He leans up and nuzzles their noses together. “Why don’t we just focus on the good thing, like the fact that we are both here for the rest of the day.”

* * *

**Day 03 - Monday**

**If I end up regretting things in the end, at least I got to keep you for a while**

* * *

Hokuto walks into the kitchen and finds the bento boxes he has not been using already filled with food that seemed to be able to feed two people. Taiga packes it all up neatly in a small thermal bag and even fills a thermos with Hokuto’s black coffee.

“You didn’t have to do all these." Hokuto says before greeting Taiga with a kiss on his cheek.

"I wanted to. You seem to have lost some weight." Taiga zips the thermal bag. "You overslept so might as well take breakfast when you get to the office. I made overnight oats for your breakfast and it's also packed inside."

"Are you going to be lonely while being alone here?" Hokuto wants to stay home, he doesn't want to go to work. But still, he doesn't want to make Taiga feel guilty about him missing work.

"I'm going to do the laundry, so I will be very busy." Taiga gently drags him towards the doorway, he holds Hokuto's bags for him while Hokuto puts on his shoes and coat.

“You don’t have to finish everything all at once, okay?” Hokuto says as he takes his bags from Taiga.

“I know,” Taiga kisses him on his cheeks before waving his hand goodbye in an almost childlike gesture - Hokuto chuckles from how adorable he found Taiga and kisses him on his cheeks too before he goes. “Oh,” As soon as the door closes a tear falls down Taiga’s eye. “Would you look at that, huh?” He wipes away his tears that doesn’t seem to stop.

* * *

“Somebody got up early to make lunch today, huh?” Juri comments as Hokuto opens up his bento box. “Can I have some of that?” He reaches for a piece of egg roll with his chopsticks and munches on it even before he gets a proper reply from Hokuto.

“Taiga actually made this.”

Juri chokes on his food. “Taiga? As in Kyomoto Taiga? The same person who suddenly left you two years ago Taiga?” Hokuto nods his head in response as he chews his food. “Why are you acting so casual about this? This is big, Hokuto. Why is he making you lunch boxes?”

“He’s staying at my place for the next seven days.”

“And then what?” Juri raises an eyebrow. “Then he’ll leave you all broken again?”

“Juri, can we just enjoy our lunch?” Hokuto places another egg roll over Juri's rice. “I don’t know yet what will happen after seven days. Taiga’s not being clear about it. But for now, I just really want to enjoy the fact that he’s back at my place and we get to spend time together again.”

“Just..” Juri wants to say a whole lot of things but he feels like it was not really his place to do so. Even if he was Hokuto’s closest friend who knows the hell Hokuto went through the first time Taiga left, he still can’t get himself to say bad things about Taiga. “Be careful, okay? I just don’t want to see you hurt again.”

* * *

When Hokuto gets home it is a totally different scene than he was used to. As soon as he enters his apartment he could already hear sounds coming from the television - the familiar voices already give him an idea that it is the variety show Taiga enjoys watching at night - and the lights in the living room are already lit up. It’s been a while since he last came home to someone waiting for him, somehow it warms his heart to know that he’ll be greeted by a smiling face when he gets inside.

Hokuto finds Taiga asleep on the couch, with a blanket covering him up to his shoulders. He sits down on the carpet and gently caresses Taiga’s hair. “I’m home.” Hokuto says before kissing Taiga on his forehead.

Taiga slowly opens his eyes; eyelashes fluttering (along with Hokuto’s heartbeat as he once again sees the sight he had long for in a really long time). He covers his mouth as he yawns. “Welcome home. I already made dinner. I just need to heat it up while you take a bath. Let’s eat together.”

“Alright, I won’t take long.” Hokuto stands up and heads for the bathroom. “Taiga!” He screams when he notices that the whole laundry bin was cleared out of everything.

“What? What happened?” Taiga runs to the bathroom, face painted by panic and he lets out a sigh when he sees Hokuto standing up inside the bathroom. “I thought you fell or something,” He massages his chest to calm himself down. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“Did you wash everything in the laundry bin?” Hokuto says - embarrassment and panic evident in his tone as well as his face. “Everything?”

“Yes.” Taiga gives a straightforward answer to him. “I told you, I’m doing the laundry while you’re at work.” He says in a matter of fact tone.

“You could have just left… god!” Hokuto leans on the sink and covers up his face with both his hands.

Taiga clearly sees Hokuto’s ears turning red and he gets the idea of what Hokuto was getting flustered about. “Aw, is my dear Hokuto embarrassed that I washed his underwear?” He closes in the distance between them and wraps his arms around Hokuto’s waist. “Your ears are as red as a tomato right now.”

“If only the floor can swallow me whole now.”

“I’ll leave you to your thoughts now. I don’t want our food to burn.” Taiga tickles Hokuto a little before leaving him alone. “Don’t know what you’re getting all embarrassed about when I’ve seen your underwear countless times. Geez.”

“Taiga!”

* * *

**Day 04 - Tuesday**

**As trivial as things may seem, they're more fun when I do it with you**

* * *

Hokuto sees Taiga on the floor as soon as he gets out of his room, panic-stricken he rushes to Taiga’s side. He immediately falls to Taiga’s side. “Taiga.” a sigh of relief leaves him when he sees Taiga’s smile. “Why are you on the floor?”

“I lost my contacts.” Taiga pecks at Hokuto’s lips to try to ease the panic from his face. “No need to help me. You should go get ready for work. I’ll be getting new ones anyway on my way to the grocery.”

"Are you sure you don't need my help?"

"No overtime tonight, mister!" Taiga squeezes Hokuto's face in between both his hands. "Don't keep me waiting at the supermarket."

"I won't." Hokuto answers while looking like a talking fish.

* * *

Hokuto clocks out at exactly 5:00pm. Nervous and excited on his way to the supermarket. At first he tries to find Taiga on his own at the supermarket but after one lap around and he couldn't find him, Hokuto gives up and finally calls him. They meet up at the cereal aisle and Hokuto takes over pushing their cart. 

Taiga pretty much has everything in the cart already, which surprises Hokuto considering he didn't even give him a list of things to buy. Taiga proudly tells him about checking every cabinet at home to make sure he gets what they need.

Hokuto focuses his attention on Taiga, even while doing such a trivial thing like grocery shopping Taiga was glowing. He doesn't miss every single reaction Taiga has on things, especially the look of joy on his face when he finds what they are looking for. 

Hokuto notices that Taiga misses to get things by a few centimeters but he doesn't take it to mind as he might just be overthinking things. Afterall, what could missing to pick up things by a few centimeters even really mean? 

They go to the produce aisle last, Hokuto leaves Taiga to take care of choosing their vegetables while he goes to the meat section. On his way back, he sees Taiga still having his eyes fixed on the cherry tomatoes even though there was already one bag full on the cart. Hokuto takes another bag and fills it with cherry tomatoes and Taiga simply watches in awe  ‒  he kisses Taiga’s temple as he places the bag full of cherry tomatoes on the cart.

On their way home, Hokuto carries four of the bags while Taiga carries the other two. With Hokuto’s hands full of groceries. Taiga hooks his free hand around Hokuto’s arms just for them to not lose each other on the way.

* * *

Back at Hokuto’s apartment, Taiga starts preparing their dinner while Hokuto takes his bath. As he walks inside the kitchen, Hokuto notices how messy Taiga has turned the kitchen into. Just as Taiga kept missing to get things by centimeters at the grocery, it also happens while he cooks in the kitchen. 

“Taiga,” Hokuto approaches Taiga. He starts to clean up the mess in the kitchen. “How can you turn the kitchen into a total chaos?”

“My food tastes good though, right?” Taiga blows on a spoonful of curry and feeds it to Hokuto.

Taiga is quick to change the subject everytime Hokuto points out his spatial problems and Hokuto gets a little alarmed and wants to know the reason why Taiga does so. Taiga, however, seems determined to not let Hokuto know. It showed in the way he was quick to manipulate their conversation into a different topic. Hokuto is just about to bring it up again when Taiga’s phone starts beeping and just like any other day, Taiga excuses himself from the table and leaves the cleaning up to Hokuto.

Hokuto wasn't one to poke his nose in other people's business but this is Taiga that he was worrying about. While Taiga is taking his bath, Hokuto snoops around his things and stumbles upon a pouch that contains various pill bottles. All the bottles were unlabeled but they did have varying strong colors and the bottle caps have different shapes on top of them.

"Boo!" Taiga jumps at Hokuto's side and Hokuto drops the bottles in his hands. He chuckles at the sight of a startled Hokuto jumping on his heel. "Why are you rummaging through my stuff?"

"Why do you have so many pills?"

"Oh these?" Taiga picks up the bottles on the floor. "Supplements. And you know I have bad eyesight, for a painter and art curator like me I need to do something to not make it worse." He places them all back inside the pouch but no longer hides them inside his suitcase, instead he places them on the nightstand.

"Taiga, I want to believe that's all there is to it." Hokuto confesses, face showing that he is still troubled by all this and he is now overthinking his observations even more. He walks closer to Taiga, holding the other's cheek in his hand. "Please, just tell me."

"I just did. Do we have to get you memory pills? So we can take our pills together?" Taiga teases as he snakes his arms around Hokuto's waist. A pout forms in his lips. "You lost weight. I should feed you more tomorrow."

* * *

**Day 05 - Wednesday**

**I'm aware of the things I'm putting at stake**

* * *

Hokuto is not able to focus at work at all today. His thoughts are filled with all the things he noticed about Taiga lately and he can't stop himself from imagining the worst scenarios. He does something everyone at his workplace never expected, he files for a work from home effective immediately. This is a move that could affect his promotion as one of his advantages against those who were also under the selection was his squeaky clean attendance record. But right now, Hokuto doesn’t care about it. He just wants to go home to Taiga as soon as he can.

Hokuto can see Juri shaking his head in disapproval as he was fixing his things. He goes straight home, not even sending a message to Taiga first. He beats himself up for not being observant enough when it comes to how Taiga has been acting lately, for someone who does not even miss out on a single detail when making his feature articles he hates how he missed out on observing things about the person that was dearest to his heart.

As soon as he opens the door, Hokuto could already hear Taiga’s screams. He rushes to take off his shoes and drops to the floor next to Taiga. “Taiga! Taiga!”

“Aaaaaaahhhhhh!” Taiga screams while cradling his head. Hokuto holds him as he shakes, caressing his back while whispering comforting words to him. Taiga’s tears start falling.

“Taiga, I’m taking you to the hospital, okay? I’ll lift you up at the count of five.”

Taiga grips on Hokuto’s arm. “No. I’m just… this is nothing.” His face starts to ease up as his migraine decreases in pain. “I just need to take my pills.”

“I’ll put you down on the sofa and I’ll go get them.”

Taiga responds with a small nod, Hokuto lifts him gently from the floor and settles him on the sofa. Hokuto comes back with his pills, a blanket, and a glass of water. He tucks Taiga in the sofa after the older has taken his medicine and he sits down on the carpet while he lovingly strokes Taiga’s hair.

“Why are you home so early?” Taiga yawns, a bit of the effects of his pills starting to kick in. “Not that I’m complaining but don’t you have work?”

“I filed to work from home for the rest of the week. I wanted to stay home with you.” Hokuto is a bit hesitant to continue as he did not want Taiga to feel guilty about anything. “You should rest for now. I brought home what I needed to do so you don’t need to feel guilty about anything.” Hokuto stands up and Taiga reaches for his hand.

“Can you do your work beside me?”

“That’s the plan.”

* * *

**Day 06 - Thursday**

**Everything about you is worth remembering**

* * *

Hokuto walks in the kitchen and hears Taiga cursing himself as he prepares food. Just like any other day, the kitchen was a mess. He stands beside Taiga and sees the other with tears on his face.

“Taiga, why are you crying? Does something hurt? I can take it from here.” Hokuto reaches for the ladle in Taiga’s hands, his voice laced with worry after seeing Taiga in pain yesterday he feels his heart clench at the slightest flinch he notices from Taiga.

Taiga shakes his head and forces an awkward chuckle as he wipes his tears away. He feels how worried Hokuto really is about things and he doesn’t want to add up to things that he was juggling with that he chooses his words carefully before he starts to talk. “It just sucks that I make too much mess when cooking.”

Hokuto pulls him in an embrace with just his left arm and kisses Taiga’s head. “It’s okay, Taiga. You’re trying and you make good food.”

The two of them spend the rest of the day in the living room. With Hokuto busy with the work he brought home and Taiga painted while seated on the carpet. Hokuto looks over at Taiga’s canvas and he sees that Taiga was coloring outside the lines of his sketch.

“Are you trying out a new art style?” Hokuto adjusts in his seat and traps Taiga between his legs. He kisses Taiga on the cheeks before he looks over at the painting again. “You’re coloring outside of the lines. It’s not like you.”

“Oh,” Taiga puts down his brush and examines his own work. “Huh.” He chuckles as he gently runs his finger on his canvas. “Would you look at that? I am coloring outside the lines, huh?” He says. This is the first time he notices it, maybe if Hokuto hadn’t pointed it out he wouldn’t have known. He puts down his paintbrush and leans his canvas on the coffee table.

“Maybe you’re just tired. You woke up really early just to make breakfast.” Hokuto pulls Taiga closer to him, the older rests his head on Hokuto’s lap. “It’s almost lunch anyway. We might as well take a break. What do you want to eat?”

“Hm.” Taiga hums as he plays with Hokuto’s right hand. “Let’s order out so none of us would have to get up.”

“Sure.” Hokuto reaches for his phone on the desk with his free hand. “What would you want?” He struggles to unlock and pull up an app using only his left hand but Taiga doesn’t let go of his right hand.

“Katsudon.” Taiga yawns. "Oh, parfait!"

“Anything else?” Hokuto asks as he finalizes their order on the app. He doesn’t even have to ask Taiga which restaurant they would order as they pretty much end up ordering at the same place whenever they stay at home. Taiga shakes his head at the question. “Alright, then. Now we wait. Do you want to nap first?”

Taiga nods his head, he gets up from the carpet and lays down on the couch, resting his head on Hokuto’s lap. “Hokuto, remember when you used to tell me stories so I can sleep?”

Hokuto looks back on the days when Taiga worked as an art curator. While Taiga did love his job, it didn’t mean he never got tired. It was especially stressful when there were new exhibits coming in and the museum hosts events. Taiga overthinks everything he didn’t finish for the day that he often had trouble falling asleep. 

On days like those, Hokuto tells Taiga a story from whatever book he was currently reading and it usually does the job of getting Taiga to ease up and drift to sleep. It wasn’t so much the stories that got him to sleep, it was more of who was telling him the stories. Nothing relaxes him more than hearing Hokuto’s voice.

"How could I forget? I don't ever forget things about you." Hokuto laces their hands together. For the past two years he has been dreaming of another day like this, another day where he holds Taiga in his hands. His heart clenches as he remembers today is the sixth day of Taiga's stay. He's careful not to grip Taiga's hand harder all of a sudden as Taiga would know that something bothers him. As much as possible, Hokuto wants to spend the day filling it with happy memories of them.

"I'm not stressed out or anything but can you tell me a story while we wait for the food?" Taiga settles on a more comfortable position for both him and Hokuto. He intently watches as Hokuto mentally chooses what story to tell him. After all, it has been two years and Hokuto had probably finished a lot of books during that time. A smile slowly paints on Taiga's face as he anticipates what Hokuto was about to tell him.

Hokuto decides on a recent fantasy story that he read lately, knowing that Taiga loves letting his imagination run wild and free. This was the best choice of story to tell him. Honestly, Hokuto read up on a lot of fantasy themed novels when they were living together so he would never run out of stories to tell Taiga. In their days off, he’d be surprised that Taiga already sketched out what he thinks some of the characters from his books looked like and with that Hokuto knows that Taiga does listen to the stories he tells before he drifts off to sleep.

Taiga watches Hokuto intently as he tells him a story. It was not that he didn’t find Hokuto’s voice soothing anymore that he couldn’t really go to sleep, it was hard to break eye contact with Hokuto when he looked down on Taiga as he caresses his hair. Their eyes locked together and for a moment Taiga had forgotten everything else around them. It was always like that when he looks in Hokuto’s eyes, he always gets lost in them. He always wonders what could Hokuto be thinking of. He wonders if there is anything in the world that’s more beautiful to him than Hokuto’s eyes (which was answered after he went on his various trips, apparently none of the sights he saw could compare to the sight of Hokuto’s eyes).

Hokuto couldn't help the smile that forms in his face. He had to stop telling the story to contain himself first but with Taiga scrunching up his face as a complaint for him to continue it got harder to contain his happiness. His heart swells from how adorable Taiga is right now, all eased up on his lap.

The doorbell rings and Hokuto curses under his breath, his bright smile immediately replaced by frustration. Before getting up, Taiga pinches both of Hokuto's cheeks.

"We have all day together anyway, what's a few minutes to answer the door, right?" Taiga sits up.

Hokuto grunts but still makes his way to answer the door.

* * *

**Day 07 - Friday**

**How could days end in a blink of an eye?**

* * *

Taiga tries to get up from the bed but it proves difficult when his legs are tangled with Hokuto's and not to mention Hokuto having his arm around him. He watches Hokuto for a while, examining his face to imprint it to his memory. How could he even forget anything about Hokuto? Even with his eyes closed, he can describe it in full detail in whatever kind of emotion you ask him of. Happy is an understatement to describe how he feels waking up next Hokuto, seeing Hokuto first thing in the morning, and seeing him before he drifts off to sleep. A tear escapes his eyes as he thinks about this, emotions already overwhelming him this morning. He wipes it off before Hokuto sees it.

Taiga slowly slips off his legs from Hokuto's but he fails to get up as Hokuto's arm pulls him closer and his leg already trapping him again. Taiga puts his arm around Hokuto and gently taps on his back as Hokuto nuzzles his head on the crook of Taiga's neck.

"Come on, you big baby." Taiga teases him. "Let me go so I can make breakfast."

"Brunch." Hokuto murmurs, almost inaudible but Taiga is able to make out the words Hokuto says no matter how slur they get. It's a skill he acquired from the many incidents of drunk Hokuto and sleepy whiny Hokuto, both of which he finds adorable.

"You don't need to get up with me."

Hokuto tightens his hold on Taiga. "No. Just Hokuto."

"Yes, yes. Just Hokuto. But Hokuto needs food too." Taiga plants a kiss on top of Hokuto's head. "Why did you even stay up all night working yesterday anyway? See, now you're all sleepy." His tone is more amused than annoyed. Hokuto rarely acts spoiled and when he does, Taiga stretches it out as much as he can.

"Taiga. Hokuto. All day. No work." Hokuto pulls on Taiga to get closer to him as if it was still possible considering the lack of space between them.

"Alright, alright. Brunch it is." Taiga inhales deeply. Hokuto's natural scent has always been his favorite. "But you're cooking. I want to eat a home cooked meal by you the whole day. After all, it is our seventh day."

The seventh day, the day Hokuto hoped to never come is already here. Hokuto was too focused making the most out of the time Taiga was with him that he forgot about the limited time he had. He looks up and Taiga meets his gaze, cradling Hokuto's face with his left hand.

"Why does my baby suddenly look sad?" Taiga pouts, acting innocent when he damn well knows what Hokuto was sad about. "Aren't you happy to get to spend the whole day with me?"

Hokuto switches their position, letting Taiga rest his head on his chest this time so the older wouldn't see the sadness in his eyes. How could seven days pass in a blink of an eye?

"Hokuto," Taiga laces their hand together and smiles at how their hands fit so well with each other it was as though they were made to hold each other. "Let's just be happy today, okay?"

"I am happy." Hokuto tries to keep himself together. It wouldn't do any of them any good if he paints this day with gloom. "I'm always happy with you in my life."

* * *

“Were you so busy with work you let all our plants die?” Taiga asks as he makes his way to the balcony after they cleaned up all the dishes they used for breakfast. “I cleaned up the pots while you were busy writing yesterday.”

Their plants, right. Hokuto almost forgot that those existed. The day that Taiga left without warning was the day he stopped watering all of them, keen on letting them wither away in hopes that his feelings for Taiga would wither along with them. If Yugo didn’t come and check on his living situation the plants would have died (but not his love for Taiga), thankfully Yugo was able to repot them and salvage them. Now, those plants decorated Yugo’s balcony with blooms. Blooms that if Hokuto was asked represented the way Taiga brought spring back to his life when he came.

“Yugo took them in. He mocked me for not being able to take care of a few plants.” Hokuto follows him and they both sit on the floor of the balcony.

Taiga drags his crate of paint and paintbrushes, settling it right in front of him and Hokuto where they both could reach it with ease. “You promised me we’d paint them. Bring them a new life.”

“The ones on your side have a higher probability of looking brighter once you finish painting them. These ones however,” Hokuto picks up one of the pots in front of him and rotates it in his hand to examine it. “They might look even more pathetic than they do now if I work on them.” 

“Hey! Don’t say that. Let’s get you started, shall we?” Taiga hands him a brush that he dipped in blue paint. “Okay, so why not start with something simple like, random strokes.” He reaches for Hokuto’s hand that was holding the brush but misses it by a few centimeters, he moves his hand down a little before he guides Hokuto to making five different strokes that when looked at together sort of look like petals. “See. You just need to put a circle in the middle and you’ll have your first flower!"

"Are you sure this is what you want us to do for today? Don't you want to take a stroll or go somewhere?"

Taiga shakes his head with a smile on his face. He cups Hokuto's face with his left hand and he leans in to kiss him. Hokuto's lips feel like pillows for his but he remembers about the pot in Hokuto's hand and pulls himself away before Hokuto drops it. Hokuto chases after his lips for one last chaste kiss before Taiga is back to his seat.

"I'd much rather stay here and have your undivided attention."

"If you wanted my attention then why are we here painting pots?"

"Blame the lack of color in your apartment."

It was and always will be Taiga bringing color to his apartment, his life. Hokuto knows that it is true both literally and figuratively and Taiga knows it too from the many times Hokuto had mentioned it over and over again. All color left the apartment the moment Taiga decided never to come back home, something Hokuto dreads of going through all over again. And right now he can't really focus on painting, his mind too filled with the thoughts of this being the seventh day.

Hokuto watches Taiga. Taiga's ever so focused eyes when he paints never fails to take his breath away and the way his hands move so delicately, precise, and careful when bringing his creations to life makes Hokuto wonder how Taiga sees the world with his eyes.

There are instances when Taiga misses to hit the brush on the right color that he needed and Hokuto sees him flinch for a bit. He tries to push over the paint a little closer to Taiga but the same thing still happens. He worries that there must be something wrong but at the same time he thinks that he might just be reading too much into things. 

It took them almost the whole afternoon to finish painting the pots but it was an afternoon filled with stories shared between the two of them again. With Taiga asking Hokuto as much as he could get from the years that he was away, they both avoided talking about what would happen after this day ends.

* * *

**Day 08 - Saturday**

**A boundless endless void**

* * *

Hokuto suddenly wakes up from his sleep and finds Taiga no longer in his hold, no longer in the bedroom for that matter.  _ 12:00am  _ the digital clock on the nightstand reads. Taiga's phone is not on the nightstand where he usually puts it and Hokuto turns on his bedside lamp and does a quick scan of the room: Taiga's bags were no longer there when he clearly remembers seeing them at the corner of the room before they turned in for bed. Not wanting to think of the worst case scenario, he gets up from the bed. 

In his mind he tries to convince himself that maybe Taiga decided to tidy things up inside cabinets. He takes in deep breaths before he opens up the cabinets: nothing. Except for his own things, nothing else was inside the cabinets. He moves to the bathroom, the door is unlocked and no one is inside. He opens the cabinets one after another: nothing. Tears start to pool in his eyes as he closes the cabinets with shaking hands.

Hokuto pulls himself together with what little strength he has left and heads for the kitchen. To his dismay, Taiga isn't there. Not in the kitchen. Not in the living room. Not in the balcony, the pots they painted in the afternoon weren't there anymore. His knees start to give up and a few tears escape his eye. 

One room remains untouched, Taiga's studio. Even when Taiga left the studio remained untouched. All of Taiga's paintings, pottery, and materials were tucked in properly in that room. He takes in deep breaths as he holds on to the doorknob, closing his eyes as he opens the door. Slowly, he opens his eyes but what greets him makes him part his lips to release the breath he was holding in.

The whole room is cleared up of everything it used to hold. Thoughts start to flood his mind. How long has it been since he last opened the room? When did Taiga find the time to move all those things without his knowledge? How was Taiga able to remove every single thing connected to him? Why does it feel like Taiga wanted to remove all traces that his presence ever existed in Hokuto's apartment… in Hokuto's life? Where could Taiga possibly be?

If this was a dream and the gods just randomly decided fuck him over, Hokuto wants to wake up from this soon. He bawls as he curls on the floor to hug himself, trying to keep pieces of himself together as he feels his world shatter once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End notes for Chapter One: These Seven Days with You  
> Hi~ if you're reading up to this part thank you for giving this fic some of your time. I made an alternate ending for this one because I was really conflicted on how it should end. Part of me wanted to end it with Hokuto suffering alone in his apartment and part of me wanted to write out a whole different ending where Hokuto... well if you want to know or not I leave the decision to you.


	2. From this Day Forward

* * *

**Day 09 - Sunday**

**Wherever you are, that's where my home is**

* * *

The whole day yesterday Hokuto did not set a foot outside his apartment in hopes that Taiga might come back any minute. He messaged all his friends that he was out of town until Monday and he even rescheduled all incoming subscription deliveries to him on a later date to avoid getting his hopes up when there's noises by the door and getting disappointed it is not Taiga. He even slept in the living room instead of the bedroom.

This was two years ago all over again. Taiga left all of a sudden but this time even worse because he wasn't even able to get a goodbye out of him.

This time will be different. This time he will not let Taiga decide things all on his own. If he learned anything from the past few days, that is how wrong and stupid he was two years ago for letting Taiga go. For not fighting for their love. He gets up and starts his search for Taiga. He goes for the obvious place first: Taiga's parents' home.

* * *

"Hokuto." Taiga's mother opens the gate as soon as she can when she sees Hokuto on the intercom. She pulls him inside and hugs him as tightly as she could, letting out a sigh of relief when she lets him go. "You came." Her eyes are glassy with tears as she caresses Hokuto's face as though she is trying to make sure he is real. "I promised Taiga I wouldn't contact you and I hope you'd come on your own. And here you are."

"He's here, isn't he?"

She gives a small nod in response. "He's on the balcony. Do you remember the way or do you want me to take you there?"

"I can still remember it."

Hokuto stops in his tracks as soon as he sees Taiga seated in the balcony.

"I knew my mother would let you in. She's always on your side, huh?" Taiga says loudly to make sure Hokuto can hear him. "Come on, you're already here so might as well join me."

"How did you know?" Hokuto asks as he stands on the balcony.

"I can smell you." Taiga talks without taking his eyes off of the sky. "That and the fact that I heard the doorbell when my mom clearly said we weren't expecting guests today." He stands up and reaches for Hokuto's face but misses it by a few inches. "Damn it, it's hard to reach for you when there's three of you."

Hokuto takes Taiga’s hands and guides it with his to cradle his face. He sighs at the familiar warmth he feels from Taiga. “Spare me the excuses and tell me the truth, Taiga.” He says in a steady tone which surprises even himself as he thought he wouldn’t be able to go through talking with Taiga without breaking into tears. Maybe, he thinks to himself, he had run out of tears from crying too much yesterday.

“The pills you found were maintenance medicine to try to slow down the progression of my loss of eyesight.” Taiga says, he waits for a reaction from Hokuto before he continues. Hokuto reaches for his free hand and holds it in his, giving it a light squeeze to urge him to continue. “I left two years ago when I was told about my condition. I traveled to find a cure of some sort but… well…” Taiga nervously chuckles. “I failed at that. The only certain way is to get a donor.” Taiga’s hand falls on his side as he sighs.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry or burden you. I was determined just to stay away and never come back but when it was getting worse, all I wanted was to see you for the last moments that I could see clearly. I stopped taking my medicine yesterday, they weren’t really having any effects anymore.”

Hokuto puts everything together, all the things he noticed while Taiga was with him at his apartment. Guilt starts to eat him up. Beating himself up mentally as to why he didn’t ask Taiga or persist to get him to talk when they were together. “Taiga, it ‒”

“It doesn’t matter.” Taiga cuts him off. “That’s what you’re about to say, right? Hokuto, I’ll be blind sooner or later and I don’t want to burden you with taking care of me. I don’t want you to constantly worry about me so I was determined to erase all of my traces from your apartment, from your life.”

“Then why did you stay with me for seven days? What was the point of all that?” Hokuto finally lets out the question that has been in his mind from day one, only this time he was not going to accept a shrug or any other excuse for an answer and Taiga knows this. 

Just by looking at Hokuto’s eyes Taiga knows there is no escaping this now. “It was very selfish of me, I know. But I wanted memories of happiness, before the whole world turns pitch black, I wanted to see my light before that. It’s unfair and selfish and I fully know that.”

“Taiga, it doesn’t matter. If you’re selfish. If you’re unfair. If you’re blind. I don’t need you to change who you are.” Hokuto gathers up every bit of courage he has left to not break down right now. “This wouldn’t be easy for you,” he cups Taiga’s face with his hand, running his thumb gently over his cheek. “I want to be with you even if it’s difficult. I don’t want you to go through this alone. I’m not going to repeat my mistake from two years ago and not fight for us.”

“I knew you’d say that.” Taiga leans in to his touch. “But you have to really think about this, Hokuto. I will be starting therapy soon to get used to doing things without my sight but I will be a handful.”

Hokuto chuckles. Even with such a heavy situation they were about to face he still found himself laughing. “Taiga, you’ve always been a handful.”

“Hey!” Taiga pouts.

Hokuto leans in and kisses Taiga’s pout away. “But you are my handful.”

“You’ll have a little help handling me though.”

“I saw the renovation, Taiga. I figured as much. And your mom went through all the floor plans with me, it just made sense to me now why she kept asking my opinion about the floorplan and furniture and things.” Hokuto wraps Taiga in a loose embrace.

The smile returns to Taiga’s face and his eyes are bright as he looks straight at Hokuto. “We’re going to have to arrange for your stuff to be transferred here then. Your workplace is a little farther now so you can just use my car. Welcome to your new home!”

“Anywhere with you is home for me, Taiga.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me at:  
> twitter [@geeelatinnn](https://twitter.com/geeelatinnn)  
> curious cat [@geeelatinnn](https://curiouscat.qa/geeelatinnn)  
> or you can leave a comment down below
> 
> Casually slipping my ko-fi account in case you want to buy me coffee: [@geeelatinnn](https://ko-fi.com/geeelatinnn)

**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me at:  
> twitter [@geeelatinnn](https://twitter.com/geeelatinnn)  
> curious cat [@geeelatinnn](https://curiouscat.qa/geeelatinnn)  
> or you can leave a comment down below
> 
> Casually slipping my ko-fi account in case you want to buy me coffee: [@geeelatinnn](https://ko-fi.com/geeelatinnn)


End file.
